Moonlight
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: For Nameless Blossom. SasuSaku. It's only when you have no other option left that you adapt and accept. "Where do I go next?" There is no answer to that question but one that you make. Sakura adjusts, Naruto worries, and Sasuke changes.
1. Twilight

**For:** _Nameless Blossom_ as a very, very, very late birthday present. Late as in this was due in October. And now it's nearly January. I epically fail. This is supposed to be a one-shot, but it grew and grew until it reached around 30ish pages, and I'm still not done. So I'm dividing it into chapters.

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_Time takes it all whether you want it to or not, time takes it all. Time bares it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness and sometimes we lose them there again._

--Stephen King

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**Twilight**

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_Who's there?_

**Me, of course. **

_Me? That sounds familiar…_

**Should be. We are the same person after all. **

_Really? That's…how does that work?_

**It—Actually, I have no idea. You're the brains after all.**

_Oh…I'm confused. What are we doing? What's going on?_

**Well…you'll remember soon enough. I'd tell you but that might not help at all. Just wait.**

_One last thing—Why is it so dark?_

**That? You'll see. Just get used to it—it'll be like this for a while. Forever in fact.**

-x-

Sparks flew, mini-stars falling. They were everywhere, near a tree, by the field, showering down from the sky.

The movement was too fast for her to follow, just an orange blur and a blue one clashing, separating and then meeting once more. Almost like a rehearsed dance, the ones that she used to learn when she was little and needed to know how to blend into a party. The only difference was that those were graceful and this one was just raw power.

It was still beautiful and for a moment she watched it before reminding herself what she was going to do.

She was going to end it. There would be no more chasing, no more running, no more wondering. Everything would come back together, the puzzle pieces packed away into a box, and then later they would try to put it back together.

For now, she was in charge of getting the pieces together. It was a difficult job and because of her control, she was the only one who could manage it.

It was a dangerous job too and that's why she offered. She didn't want to have her friends—_family_—suffer even more, when she had a better chance to do it.

Flipping her hands, she started to make the moves for it. When she sensed another, stronger presence approaching, she started to go faster.

-x-

_I…I think I'm starting to remember._

**That's good. Soon we'll be done with the remembering and be able to wake up.**

_Oh, is this a dream?_

**In a sense, yes. It is a dream in one way.**

_Does this mean the darkness will go away soon?_

**I told you already, that will stay.**

_Why?_

**I hate having to answer all these questions. I'd rather hit something. And you being confused makes me quiet and…**

**You'll see soon enough, ok? We're getting to the part where you'll find out. So do it quickly, 'k?**

_**They**_ **are getting worried.**

_Who's they?_

**Listen. You can hear their voices even now.**

"Ku…wak…don't…"

"_She'll…soon…go…_"

"Will…he…soon…see…stay…fix…"

"_**No…stuck…**__"_

"Please? I…see…she…want…too…"

"_**Fine.**__"_

_Oh. I hear them. Not properly though…_

**Soon you'll be able to hear them completely. **

_And see them, right?_

**For a while.**

-x-

_Nearly done._ Glancing up, she saw two bright balls of energy shooting towards each other. One an electric blue, Zeus's lightening. The other a fiery red, Apollo's chariot.

She knew what that meant. It would herald their doom, instruments of destruction that couldn't be stopped no matter what. The balls would keep going until it contacts something and destroys it.

Unless she finished her move and stopped them. That was the only thing that kept her moving, the only thing that made her hope and not shatter apart.

She would save them. She had the power and she would use it this time. No more being a burden, it was time she showed that she could be just as powerful as them.

A few more hand-signs and she'd be done. The aftereffects would momentarily paralyze her, apparently, and she would be in trouble for using this jutsu because it was forbidden.

No matter, any punishment would be worth this chance.

However, as she did the last sign, she realized something had gone wrong. Something had gone terribly wrong.

-x-

_Oh. I…I remember._

**About time. It was tiring waiting for this.**

_And…and…did it…did I…?_

**Yeah, it did. We still have some time before it completely goes into effect but…it will happen.**

_Nothing to stop it? Nothing can be done?_

…**I don't think so. But I'm not the brains, you are. I'm sure you know the answer.**

…_maybe…maybe someone else can find a way. But did…did it work?_

**Oh, don't worry about that. It worked perfectly. I'm sure you can imagine. Though, what ever—oh, never mind. I'm sure you'll be asked that soon enough.**

_What…oh. I just thought…I just wanted…I wanted to actually be able to help them for once._

**Well, you did. Congratulations. Now we'll just have to live with the results.**

_Doesn't everybody?_

-x-

Her eyes are heavy, oh so very heavy when she tries to open them. They flutter open for a second, the world coming into focus for that brief moment before the lights are too bright and she closes her eyes again. She tries again and her eyes finally open and all she can see is white.

White with tinges of gray at the ends and she knows that it has started already.

She tries to move a finger, just a little, and feels sluggish when it does move.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice calls out and suddenly she is enveloped in orange and warmth. Two arms are around her, squeezing her closer to the body, and she tries to think of who it is.

_Naruto_ comes the answer a few seconds later.

"Are you alright? Why did you do that? You know—" Naruto says rapidly, not giving her enough time to answer before saying the next question.

"Naruto, leave her alone." A smacking noise is heard and Naruto yelps in pain, hastily letting go of Sakura. "She's barely conscious, much less capable of answering your questions."

Another face fills her vision, tawny eyes staring intently into her own, and she (_Tsunade_) talks to her. "Sleep, Sakura. And we'll talk about this later."

Sakura can barely hear her, her eyes already sinking shut again and the darkness takes her prisoner again.

-x-

For the next few hours, a small game is played. Sakura swims to the surface of her mind, remembering that she should wake up. She opens her eyes, looking around a little without actually moving her head, and then the sandbags on her eyes slid down and she dives back to the bottom.

It's a game that she doesn't realize she's playing. Sometimes she can stay awake for ten minutes, staring outside or trying to listen to her friends who are waiting by her bed. She hears snatches of their conversation, not really listening, and without realizing it she is asleep once more. Then she'll wake up again, not realizing what happened to that family who got the wrong set of flowers for the funeral. She barely remembers hearing about it in the first place.

She falls in and out of her dreams, sometimes in reality and sometimes in fantasy. It's too hard to tell the difference. It's a struggle to keep her eyes open especially when she wants to and thinks that this time, she'll keep them open. This time she'll notice when she falls asleep.

The only thing she notices is when she wakes up.

-x-

"No, Naruto, we are not doing this." Tsunade rubbed her forehead, exhausted from trying to heal Sakura all night. "I told you this already."

"Yesterday, you promised. You said we'd do it." Naruto's face is filled with determination. His eyebrows narrow when she tries to leave him and he jumps in front of her.

"Sakura did this for him. She should at least see him."

"The Uchiha is a prisoner right now. Do you honestly think I'll let him visit her? Especially when he hasn't been tried yet?"

"You will." Naruto says this simply, with conviction, and Tsunade sighs before scribbling a note.

She knows she can't refuse him this. Especially when she realizes how much this would mean to Sakura.

"Later. When I've done checking on her and I've checked him as well. Only then."

"But—"

"Do you want me to lock you up with him? Or not do this at all? Now, get out of my way before you become a part of the wall!"

She also knows she wants this so that the Uchiha can realize what he helped start. It's a terrible thing, to want to see the Uchiha see the damage he's caused and get hurt by it, but it is something she wants to see anyways.

-x-

It's two days before Sakura can stay awake properly. Slowly she stayed awake for longer periods before finally she was able to stay awake for at least half a day.

It is on the fourth day that Tsunade visits her.

"Sakura…" Tsunade takes a sit next to her. "I'll do a quick check-up, ok?"

"Sure…" Her tongue still feels heavy but she can withstand it. Tsunade's hands are gentle as she prods Sakura's legs and arms first and then her chest. Finally, she takes out a flashlight and looks into Sakura's ears, mouth, and nose.

For a moment, all is silent and the Tsunade speaks.

"You know what you did?"

Sakura doesn't answer. She wishes she could lie, close her eyes, do anything so she couldn't see the pity and disappointment in her shishou's eyes. Not trusting her voice, she just nods.

"Why did you do it? Do you have a death wish? I should beat you to a pulp right now for this. Did I not warn you against this?" Tsunade's voice rises until it is a roar, filling the room. Her hands grab Sakura's and squeeze them as her voice lowers to a whisper. "But now…"

_I've hurt her_, Sakura thinks and she squeezes back. "Tsunade-shishou, I'm…I'm still alive at least."

"You might not have been! And at what cost?" She's angry again and abruptly stands up and leaves Sakura.

"You should have realized what this means, Sakura. I won't punish you because you already are going to go through a punishment far worse anything I could give you."

With that, Tsunade leaves and Sakura silently stares at her hands.

She knows those words are true.

-x-

"Hey, Sakura-chan, I bought you some ramen," Naruto tells her six days after she first woke up. "I know that hospital food is lame and disgusting and that you've missed ramen."

Sakura giggles softly as Naruto acts gentlemanly like and places a cloth on her lap and ties another one around her neck. "Now, be careful not to spill. I managed to sneak this in and I don't want a single drop to be wasted."

"Yes, sir," Sakura mock salutes and breaks her chopsticks open.

"Hey, Sakura-chan…" Naruto asks after a few minutes of slurping, "Is it…is it true?"

"What is, Naruto?" She feigns ignorance. Maybe he isn't asking what she thinks he is.

"You know, that you are…that you are…" He can't say the words and neither can she. Saying them makes them real, tangible, something that exists and inevitable.

She wants to believe she can change it.

"Yes…it is." Naruto's face falls and she adds, "But maybe we can stop it."

His face immediately brightens and he starts planning. "Tsunade-baa-chan will just have to read more and find out what to do and maybe we can…"

Naruto says all sorts of bright, optimistic things and she doesn't have the heart to tell him that it's already started. The edges of her world are grey, the corners black, and soon it will all fade into one.

-x-

Sakura didn't see Naruto's face when he found out what would happen. She didn't see his face fall, the anger in his voice, the defeat, but she could very well imagine it.

That's why she is surprised when he visits her a week later and there is a smile on his face. It doesn't fully reach his eyes but it is a true one all the same.

"Sakura-chan, I have a surprise for you!" Naruto tells her as he barges into the room. His face is a bit blurry but that voice is recognizable.

"A surprise?" She watches as he dashes to her bedside, arms flying around enthusiastically.

"Well…it's…" Naruto stops talking, realizing what he's about to say, and then he leans over to whisper, "It's a surprise."

"I know."

"I can't tell you. Sorry, Sakura-chan." He looks at her, eyes big and round, and she gives him a smile.

"It's ok. It's a surprise after all." She tries to hide her disappointment—being in the hospital room for days is boring and she wants to go out and see the world one last time.

Naruto still catches it, though. "Sakura-chan, I can tell you part of it. But you have to be surprised still, ok?"

"Sure." She tries to keep the eagerness from her voice, fearful he'd stop.

"Tomorrow, you'll be able to go outside again! And then, soon, I'll be taking you home."

"What?" She can't believe her ears. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes." There's a wide grin on his face as he watches her face brighten. "So, see you then?"

"Of course." She wouldn't miss it for the world.

-x-

Naruto loves Sakura. It's simply just that. In the beginning, he was sure it was a crush which then turned into a deeper love. He wanted a kiss, her smile, anything as long as it was just for him. Years after that, he was sure that he loved her like a brother. He wanted to help her stand, give her a shoulder to lean on, protect her. Now, he isn't fully sure how to label it.

It is still love, no matter how it is defined, and Naruto would rather die than to see Sakura get hurt. Even when she no longer needs rescuing, she's stronger now, he wants to save her. It's a natural reaction to him. It's a natural reaction for Team Seven, in fact.

(He isn't sure why Sasuke went against that reaction all those years ago.)

"Don't hurt her again, ok?" Naruto says, his voice strong and anger in his eyes. "It's…It's bad enough that she has to go through this as it is. Don't make it worse."

There's no reply and Naruto turns around and starts to lead the way.

"If you do, I won't stop whatever punishment comes your way. In fact, I'll do it myself."

There is a snort behind him, one of disbelief, and Naruto thinks that maybe, just maybe, it'll be ok.

-x-

It's amazing. The changes that occur over the span of a day are startling. Then, when she thinks of it, the changes were supposed to be done by now so she should be happy with what she has.

Naruto comes in and even though the door is just ten meters from her bed, his face is not recognizable and she can only tell it is him from his orange clothes.

He is an orange blur that suddenly is at her side and she can see his face with sudden clarity. He looks excited, bouncing around her bed, but there is also apprehensiveness there too.

"Shizune-nee-chan said I could take you out myself," Naruto declares proudly and with good reason. It had been months since he had been allowed to be in a hospital room unsupervised.

Or maybe not completely unsupervised. She remembers there was a dark blur behind Naruto when he first entered the room and she looks back at the doorway. There's a darkly dressed person standing there, not moving, and probably watching Naruto.

"Naruto, is that Sai?" she asks him. Naruto freezes and she thinks that the figure tensed up slightly.

"Sai? No that's…well, that's surprise number two!" Naruto recovers quickly and puts the wheelchair next to Sakura's bed. "He's going to be pushing your wheelchair. Baa-chan said he had to or else she'd hurt him."

"A wheel-chair? Do I really need one?" Sakura complains as Naruto drops a pile of clothes on her bed.

"Shizune-nee-chan said I had too…but only while you're on hospital grounds." There is a mischievous smirk on his face and she grins back. "She also said you had to change into one of these."

Sakura starts to paw through the clothes before she realizes Naruto is still there.

"Get out!"

-x-

In the hallway, they are silent. Naruto avoids his friend's gaze, ignoring the silent question written in his eyes until finally it is said aloud.

"What happened?"

Naruto tenses. He expected the question, even prepared for it, but hearing it is different than thinking of it.

"It's…" Naruto's voice trails off as he thinks about it. He doesn't know how to say this without making it seem as though he is blaming him.

"Sakura, while she was using that jutsu in the forest to stop the Akatsuki from catching us, she made a small mistake in it. It was a forbidden one as well, so there aren't many ways to stop what is happening. She's…"

Naruto pauses and gulps. His eyes are burning, his throat is raw, and he knows that if he doesn't stop and collect himself he'll cry again.

(The first time he cried, it was out of confusion. _What's happening? _

The second time, it was out of anger. _Why her? Why for us?_

The third, it was out of loss. _Why Sakura? She needs it!_

The last time, he made a promise. He won't cry. Sakura shouldn't remember him with red eyes and a runny nose.)

After a few moments, he continued. "Sakura, she's going blind." Then he opened the door and went in.

There was nothing he could add to that.

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	2. Dawn

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_People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within._

—Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

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_Dawn_

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Sakura stares at the person approaching her bed. He's close enough for her to see him properly but she doesn't think he'd ever be close enough for her to understand what she's seeing. His face is still recognizable, still his, but she finds herself seeing a stranger.

That's probably because he's a stranger.

"Sasuke?" Sakura whispers and that makes the illusion a reality. It is Sasuke, there is no doubt about it.

"See?" Naruto says from beside her. "Surprise number two."

She barely hears him, still staring at the boy—no, now he's a man—that approaches her wheelchair. Naruto waves in front of her, regaining her attention.

"He's going to be helping me take you around. Of course, I don't need any help, but Tsunade-baa-chan thought that maybe I should get a little for stairs and stuff like that."

Or maybe she knows that Sasuke is, no matter what he's done, still more trustworthy in these sorts of things. Sakura notices the small collar around his neck, ankles, and wrists. It is dark, a deep black, and looks metallic.

It's a chakra absorber, probably, and is the only thing keeping Sasuke from running away again. The only thing that's keeping him here in this room, listening to Naruto and pushing her wheelchair like a nurse.

She stares at him a little longer before she remembers the promise she made herself. She wouldn't turn back into the fangirl, wouldn't turn back into that weakling. The wheelchair is beside her bed and she slips into it before anyone could say anything.

"Sakura-chan, we're only allowed to see the hospital grounds today but tomorrow, we can go even further," Naruto tells her as he steps around her to get to the door and open it. Sasuke moves to push the wheelchair when she pushes it herself.

"I can get myself around," she says, pushing the wheels. She's hesitant for a few moments before she figures out how to handle it and pushes it confidently.

She can do it herself. She knows she can. Sasuke will see this and know that she has changed.

Ignoring Naruto's protests, she pushes herself out the door and down the hallway. Naruto hovers around her, worried, until she finally yells at him.

"You're in the way, Naruto! How can I get out if you won't let me move? Do you want to lose some toes?" Naruto relaxes for a moment, dodging the path of her wheelchair and finally just leading the way.

"The garden is nice today, with all the flowers and there's this turtle that's huge and there's ramen of course, for lunch!" Naruto says as he holds open the next door which lead to a flight of stairs. He's preoccupied by his thoughts of lunch that he forgets for a moment that Sakura's in a wheelchair.

"And I think I'll eat five bowls today because…" Naruto looks back and notices Sakura isn't following him. "Why aren't you—Sakura-chan! I'll help." He climbs back up the stairs to her but before he can get any closer, Sakura's chair is picked up from behind and lowered down the flight of stairs.

It's Sasuke and for a few minutes she fears she's fallen into a trap where she'll become the weak one again. Then, when she reaches the landing, he lets go of her and lets her wheel herself out into the hallway.

It's a slight acknowledgment but it's all she needs.

-x-

"There is something you need to know," Tsunade says to the three men in front of her. "Sakura's parents are away, probably will be for a while. They're having a second honeymoon and so…she's alone in her house."

Kakashi listens silently, his eye barely peeking over the orange book in his hands. He knows where this will go.

"What? But how will Sakura-chan take care of herself?" Naruto cries, worried. Sasuke just remains where he is, leaning against a tree. This doesn't really concern him, considering he's waiting for his trial and can't do anything anyways.

"That's why you're here, idiot," Tsunade growls. It is just too early to be dealing with Naruto like this. She glances at the girl in question, sitting under a tree nearby. Her throat tightens a little when she realizes just how rare a sight that will be soon. Another person she failed.

She composes herself and continues. "I need someone to look after her. Kakashi would be best," Naruto protests for a moment but is silenced by a hand rising up, "but it is not very practical to have just him in charge of her. After all, he has other missions and duties to do besides taking care of her until she's adjusted."

Naruto glances at Kakashi, glaring at him silently because he can clearly not be trusted.

"I'd prefer to have someone else who's _intelligent_ and _mature_ there, but none of my nurses can help right now and the other teams will arrive after a few days, which is not soon enough. I'd even have Uchiha help, except he caused this and I'm not letting him be near her any more than he has to be." Tsunade stares at Sasuke for a moment, tensely, before closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. "As much as this pains me to say it, Naruto will have to help."

Naruto grins enthusiastically, jumping around.

Tsunade sighs. She knows she's going to regret this.

-x-

Sakura's waiting under a tree, staring up at the cerulean sky and forest green leaves. When the world is disappearing, colours jump out like they never did before.

"What's taking them so long?" she wonders aloud as she stretches on the emerald green grass. They were only supposed to be getting her release forms.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaan!" Naruto yells and she sees him running quickly to her. Sasuke is trotting behind him, looking bored as he follows him. "Guess what?"

"What, Naruto?" She looks at him so she won't have to look at Sasuke. Staring is a fangirl thing and she doesn't want to fall to that level again.

"You're going home tomorrow and I'm going to be taking care of you!"

Sakura stops talking, eyes wide and mouth open. She stays like that for a few moments before Naruto adds, "Well, Kakashi too…"

Sasuke glances at her, noticing her frozen expression.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto finally sees her expression. "What's wrong? Kakashi won't hurt you! I'm here."

That's the problem, she thought, that's the problem.

-x-

She stares at her mirror before she goes to bed, staring at herself.

_No_ she realizes, _this is not Sakura._ She isn't staring at herself but at a stranger. The Sakura she knows isn't going blind. That Sakura doesn't get confused or lost, doesn't not recognize teammates-turned-strangers.

Instead, she is seeing a girl who has no idea who she is or what she will be. She's staring at a girl that she now has to discover and relearn.

Sakura stares at herself in the mirror and wonders who she's turning into.

-x-

Naruto comes late in the morning because he always leaves late in the evening. "It's because I want to spend as much time as possible with you," he tells her, grinning, when she asks. "After all, my Sakura-chan shouldn't be home alone, when it's dark." What he doesn't tell her is that he visits Sasuke every morning before visiting her.

Kakashi comes every now and then, early in the morning or late at night. Apparently he's "busy doing something else—it's a secret." Sakura doesn't quite believe he's doing anything important—he might just be reading his porn again.

Between the two of them, her day is mostly filled. Occasionally, she has some alone time on her hands. When she finds a moment to herself, she catalogues things. Her room is purple and silver, green and blue. These are the colours she imprints into her mind, onto a fresh page of her memory, and with them goes her room. In that corner there's a chestnut teddy bear, one that she's had for years and her father gave it to her. In the other she has a small mahogany table and her floor is made of cherry wood. There's a picture from her gennin days, with an album beside it.

While she tries to memorize everything, she doesn't open the album or look at the picture. Sakura can't bring herself to do it yet. Those sunny smiles and carefree grins might blind her eyes even more.

-x-

It's a week after she's returned home that Naruto brings Sasuke with him again. Tsunade is also there and she explains it.

"The council decided that because of his unique lineage and his skills that they would let him return to Konoha as long as he did some disciplinary work." The blonde Hokage scowls as she says this, showing her disgust.

Naruto narrows his eyes, trying to take in the information and Tsunade sighs.

"Basically they just want him to remain a ninja—albeit one with a collar—because he's the last Sharingan user there is and it would be useful to have him around. I decided that if they were going to be like that, then Uchiha would have to do a lot of work around to the village to make up for it."

"That's not fair for the teme! He's not a pet!" Naruto grows angry. "Don't worry, Sasuke, when I'm Hokage you won't have to do what they want."

Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "You want to go against the very people keeping Sasuke alive?"

Sakura turns to look at Sasuke. He is leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes trained on the ground. There is no anger in his stance. It's almost as though he doesn't care about his fate.

And for all she knows about him, now that he's done his avenging, he probably doesn't.

-x-

The first day they end up together, it's awkward. Sasuke is deathly quiet, while Naruto is too loud. He's trying too hard to keep the silence away.

They are sitting in her living room, Sasuke on a firm chair separate from them while Naruto's sitting beside her on the couch.

"You should have seen it! Kiba was flying through the forest, crashing into trees, while I was still fighting the guy with the weird mustache." Naruto punches the air, demonstrating his moves. "I was awesome, kicking him and then throwing a kunai and pinning him to the tree."

Sakura watches him reenact the whole fight before nervously getting up herself. Her living room isn't that large, with only enough room for two couches, a table, two lamps, and a small side table with a vase on it. He could easily bump into something. "Naruto, be careful, you're going to—"

Crash!

"S-Sakura-chan…" The white vase lies shattered on the ground, the small fragments lying everywhere. She gapes at it for a moment before turning to Naruto angrily.

"You…_idiot_! Why were you running around in a room!" Slowly, she approaches the trembling boy. "You will buy me a new vase, right?"

"Y-yes." Naruto nods furiously, terrified of his female teammate.

"Now, get the dustpan." Without another word, he disappears into the kitchen and Sakura sits down on her seat again.

She glances at Sasuke, curious to see his reaction, and it almost hurts to see him staring blankly at the wall.

He really has changed.

-x-

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asks, "Why do you keep disappearing, leaving me with Naruto?"

"You still have Sasuke, right?" He's smiling again, something she hasn't seen in a while.

"Yes, but he doesn't really help. He just sits in the house all day, staring at the wall and letting Naruto destroy the house. Sasuke's changed a lot…I think he's only here because Tsunade would give him something worse to do otherwise."

"Hmm…" Kakashi finishes putting on his shoes and stands in front of her. He's still tall, so very tall in comparison to her and she has to look up to see his face. "Well, then, I guess this is what being a teammate's about, right? Helping each other out?"

Sakura frowns, realizing what he's implying. "I…I guess…but…" Helping Sasuke will take a lot of time. And effort.

She isn't sure she can do that when she herself needs some help.

Kakashi leans down, until they are face to face. "You know, you've really grown up. All of you have. And you'll continue to grow, so take your time. There'll always be time." He pats her head before leaving the house.

"And I," he tells himself, "have to do my part."

-x-

It's still uncomfortable in the house after a few days. There are silences that can't be filled and sharp-edged sounds. When Sakura realizes she has to go grocery shopping, she is almost relieved.

"Hey, I need to go buy some food," she announces when they open the door at eight. Her black leather purse is hanging off one arm and she's wearing her pale yellow sun-dress.

"Sakura-chan, you look pretty today!" Naruto glomps her, almost choking her, and she tries pushes him away.

"Are you trying to kill me?" She coughs a little, her hands on her knees, when he finally lets go. Straightening up, she looks past Naruto and sees Sasuke. "…hi, Sasuke."

She doesn't know how to talk to him any more. When she thinks about it, she never did in the first place.

"Can we buy ramen?" There is a hopeful look in Naruto's eyes and Sakura sighs. It's hard to refuse him when he looks at her like that.

"Fine, but only a little. You eat enough of it as is and it's unhealthy."

"Ramen could never be unhealthy! It's the perfect meal."

"Naruto, I'm a doctor. I know better."

"But Sakura-chan—"

"Do you want me to not buy it?"

"So, what else do you want to buy?"

As they talk on the way to the market, a friendly banter going between them, it's almost easy to forget that she's going blind and Sasuke's still with them. Maybe that's it, the cause of the tense mood in her house. Naruto is someone she can get along with easily enough now days, considering they've gotten closer over the years. Sasuke, on the other hand, is someone they aren't used to any more and he isn't trying to reconnect with either of them.

_Naruto just kept trying to bring Sasuke into their conversations and that is why_, she thinks, _the house is so awkward._

Yet, she hasn't been trying to connect with Sasuke either.

When they reach the store, she turns and asks Sasuke "Is there anything you might want? Prison food probably doesn't taste very good."

He doesn't say anything in response and she sighs. "Well, if you do want anything, just put it in the cart."

Naruto's already in the store, choosing flavours of ramen he wants. She follows him, putting fruits and vegetable into the cart so she eats something healthy every now and then. "Yes, Naruto, you'll be eating vegetables. No, it's not going to be some parsley on your ramen. And please go and get some bread—fiber is good for you." When he doesn't make a move, she tells Sasuke to go and get it.

It's almost frightening that he does without saying anything.

When he's out of earshot, she whispers, "Naruto, he's scaring me. Just a little."

"But he's Sasuke…" Naruto notices her stare and changes his words. "That's why we have to make him less scary. Do you think anyone else can do it?"

"Wow…you're being awfully mature about this."

"When he's the teme again, he'll owe me."

She knew there'd be a catch. "Right, right…"

"And to make sure he turns back to normal, he'll be doing all sorts of things that'll annoy him."

"Like what?"

"Just wait and see."

When they are leaving the store, Sakura realizes that Naruto's plan probably involved Sasuke doing all the chores. That's why he had Sasuke carry the groceries.

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**A/N:** I think there should be about two or so chapters left…

*sighs*


	3. Eve

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_Love is not blind; it simply enables one to see things others fail to see._

--unknown

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**Eve**

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"Forehead!" Blonde hair falls over Sakura's shoulders as Ino hugs her from behind.

"Pig, what are you doing here?" Standing outside of the hospital, after a check-up, she looks at her friend in surprise.

"W-we wanted to c-c-check up on y-you," a quiet voice answers and Sakura turns around to see Hinata standing shyly in behind her.

"I just came back from a mission," Ino adds, not wanting to be left out before blurting, "Is it true? That you're…that you're going blind?"

"…yeah, it is." Ino freezes, her eyes wide. There is something panicky about her as when she starts to move, the prey caught in a trap.

Unlike Ino, Hinata's eyes soften and she gently grabs one of Sakura's hands. A calm lake of understanding, she offers her condolences. "I…I-I'm sorry. If there's a-anything I c-can do…"

Ino cuts her off, enraged by the peace surrounding the two. "There has to be something that can be done! Some technique or medicine. You can't go blind!" She grabs at anything she can almost desperately, not wanting it to be true. There were times when she hated Sakura but this…she never wanted this. It's hard to imagine going blind, not being able to see anything at all. The world turning off forever until it is a black sea that can't be swum out of. "Maybe we should look at the library or something. We'll find a way."

"Ino…we….Tsunade already looked. There isn't."

"No, there has to be one. If not, I'll make one." Sakura gives Ino a tired look and she almost wants to scream, _You're going blind, you're not going to be able to see, why aren't you angry? Why are you giving me that look, one of pity, as though you know that it's futile?_ It doesn't make sense, this reversal in their roles. Sakura's supposed to be the one trying to find a way still.

"Ino, there isn't. I did a technique that is slowly damaging my eyes now." Sakura flashes a bright—_it's fake,_ Ino thinks, _it has to be fake_—smile. "It's nice seeing you again…before I completely lose my sight, let's have a girl's night out?"

"S-sure. We just h-have to w-wait for Tenten. She's o-on a m-mission."

"Ok, then we'll wait for then."

"Sakura." She finally uses her friend's name and she knows what she'll do. "I'm going to find a way." _I have to._

-x-

"Naruto…would you mind doing some gardening for me?" Sakura asks, smiling innocently, the first rays of sunlight.

"Gardening?" Naruto grimaces, her smile throwing him off because isn't that how the predator hunts? Luring the prey away with false smiles and charming manners? "But…"

"Please?" She tries again, laying her trap again, and she knows that she has him caught.

"Why can't you do it yourself?" He twitches slightly as she continues to look at him and sighs, defeated. He couldn't refuse, not ever and definitely not now. "Fine but teme has to help too!"

"Thank you! Now, I need you to pull out the weeds. And I mean the _weeds_ this time." She stares pointedly at Naruto, remembering his gardening prowess.

"I know what weeds are," he protests as he kneels down in her garden. Sasuke is already there, silently pulling out weeds and soon the only thing she can hear is Naruto's grumbling.

She can't very well say that she can't tell the difference between the weeds and some of her plants. To be exact, she can notice the difference but only when she looks closely and that will take longer than getting them to do it for her.

Sasuke is a wraith, just flowing over the garden from one spot to another. He doesn't complain at all, just moves as though he has always been a part of her garden. It scares her, a little, how good he is at blending into the background.

"Naruto, be more careful…actually, do me a favour?" She gives up on him after the tenth daffodil he pulled out.

"What?" While Naruto isn't one to give up, he couldn't be happier leaving the garden. He's out of his element, a fox amid the chickens, and anything would be better than this. Dusting off his pants, the blond boy gets up and walks up to the porch.

"Go and buy some ice-cream, ok?" This plan has another objective besides getting Naruto away and having a treat. She'd also get to talk to Sasuke alone. Getting up, Sakura steps down the stairs and onto the grass. Pulling out her purse, she presses a few coins into his hand. "There's a guy selling ice-cream bars down the street. Buy…" Sakura glances at Sasuke, unsure if he should have one.

Naruto solves the problem, giving her a grin. "Hey, bastard, I'm getting you some ice-cream." With that, he breaks into a run and disappears around the corner of her house.

It's quiet again, with Sasuke just pulling the weeds. An awkward silence because he doesn't look at her at all. He hardly does when she's near him, like she's a live bomb, and she wonders why is it always so hard to start something with him.

"Um…hey," she says, uncertain of how to begin. "I…welcome back. I didn't say that before, did I?"

He glances up at her before returning to the weeds.

"You know." There is an anger in her, a small beast she repressed, and now it breaks free. "I worked hard to bring you back to Konoha. I didn't do it so that you'd act like you barely know us, that you are a stranger forced to stay here. You're worse than Sai right now."

There is still no response and she stamps her foot, causing a small tremor, one dwarfed by the earthquakes within her. "Answer me, already."

He finally stops weeding. Putting down the weeds, he replies slowly. "I never asked for it."

"What?" She nearly missed it, so surprised that his lips could still form words and his throat remembered how to make noise.

"I didn't need to be 'rescued' or brought back."

"…" This is all the thanks she got, after training and fighting for years? This is what he tells her? He didn't want to be saved? "We brought you home, where you belong, and this is how you act? Do you know how much Naruto sacrificed for you? How much I did?" She's appearing emotional again, reverting back to her childhood form, and while it bothers her, it feels good to vent.

"I didn't ask you to do it." Sasuke turns back to the gardening and she knows this discussion is over. That power is always his, the ability to stop something. He won't answer another question, probably finding it a waste of time.

"Here's your ice-cream, Sakura-chan," Naruto yells as he returns. There's a chocolate smear around his lips and a popsicle stick poking out of his mouth. "It's strawberry-flavoured." He drops a small object into her hands and then hurls another at Sasuke. "I got him vanilla."

Sasuke grabs it before it can hit him and then lays it on the ground beside him. He doesn't touch it after that and she remembers how he didn't like sweets before. Probably he still doesn't. He hadn't changed much, after all. He still kept everything to himself, still thought that he could make it on his own.

It's later, when Anko, who retrieves Sasuke every night, arrives that she thinks of an answer. When Sasuke is about to leave she softly tells him, "You never had to ask."

-x-

Hinata spent days in her room, looking up different charts on the eye. After learning what happened to Sakura's eyes, she immediately went to the Hyuuga's storage house. There were many charts about eyes and she had hoped that maybe one of them could help her. Staying cooped up in the room, she poured over everything, a dog sniffing out the trail.

Sometimes Shino and Kiba would stop by. Shino would stay and help her for a few hours until Kiba would appear. He couldn't stand the smell of the musty papers and would promptly drag the two of them out for some fun.

Any guilt she felt over having fun instead of searching was overthrown by the fact that her teammates helped her. They cared enough that they would pull her out of the mess she made, take her from the shadows and back into the sun.

Today, when she finally gives up because there is nothing left to do and the trail is cold, Hinata thinks that Sakura will be able to survive either way. She's strong and her team…her team will be like Hinata's and help her.

They just have to.

-x-

Sakura looks out her window, staring at the mountain. The faces of the past and current Hokage's stare back, noticing more than she could ever notice. Sometimes she wishes she could ask what they see from there, what sort of wisdom they get from their vantage above the earth.

It's silly, wanting to talk to stone, but she does anyways because the view up there must be inspiring. Too bad she hasn't gone up there enough or tried to pay attention to the scene when she did.

Naruto's face will go up there when he's Hokage, she realizes. Sakura doesn't doubt for an instant that he'll achieve his dream. The only problem is when.

From her house, the faces look like one large, earthy blur melding together to make a giant cliff.

She almost regrets doing that jutsu because she won't be able to see his face join the others.

-x-

While things aren't better with Sasuke, the air is less tense. It's not quite friendly but it is more like a group of strangers working together instead of two people and another person.

If she says it is because of her talk, it would be a lie. She could never convince him to do anything; he just never listened to her at all.

It probably is, if anything, because Naruto would keep forcing Sasuke to do menial tasks until he finally started to fight back. His methods aren't as obvious as they used to be, with punches or taunting words. There are no bright fires and glares that reveal their connection. Instead there are small things called vegetables in Naruto's ramen and Naruto is suddenly left alone in a room with a vacumn and duster. Sasuke uses subtle tactics but it is something at the very least.

Sometimes Sakura could see a glimpse of Sasuke, of a person she used to know and still might. He is slowly becoming the boy she remembered, except he can never be that boy again. They have all changed too much, she isn't _that_ girl anymore and Naruto isn't _that _boy anymore either.

If anything, they are all just reaching a point where they can compromise and stand each other. Sasuke can tolerate them and Sakura can try to talk to him without wanting to run. Naruto no longer has to bridge the awkward moments because the silence isn't so uncomfortable anymore.

She doubts they can be 'Team Seven' ever again. She doesn't doubt that they might be a team, though.

-x-

The library is smaller than she remembered or maybe that's because Ino had gone through most of the books in it already. Sitting by one of the study tables in the back, sunlight pouring out the window and over her shoulder, she leafs through a book. It isn't a big book, more of a leather-bound journal, but it's based on eye research and that makes it valuable.

"Come on, there has to be something," she murmurs to herself as she scans page after page. When she reaches the last page, the book is thrown down with disgust and she reaches into the pile for another one.

There will be a solution. There just has to be. Even though Sakura and Tsunade gave up, Ino will not and she will fix everything.

It's easy to think positively when she ignores the growing pile of useless books.

-x-

When Naruto sees Sakura squinting, trying to see something in the distance, or Sasuke just standing there, doing nothing, he is afraid. There aren't many things that make him afraid but this is one of them. He fears that nothing will change, that everything will stay the way it is. Change is what separated the team, but change is what can bring them together again.

Some of it, he can't do anything about, like Sakura going blind. What he can do, instead, is to bring back the old Sasuke. Or rather, because Sasuke can't come back like that, is help bring a little of the old into the new.

It's a confusing thought but it is his thought and he understands it. At the very least it is a plan that he can try to follow.

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**A/N:** Hmm…I hope this chapter doesn't seem too rushed. If it does, please tell me. I'm even more worried about the next chapter, actually, because I'm halfway through it and it seems rapid.

Or that might just be me again. I tend to over think these things sometimes.

And, this chapter is dedicated to **jadedsiren** for taking the time to PM for another chapter. Like I said, kick me when I don't update. Usually I have the chapter ready and I'm just forgetting to post it. I'm expecting that lengthy review.

I think there might only be two more chapters for this story, anyways, unless I end up lengthening it again. If I do, this chapter's name will be changed. Anyways, don't forget to **review**!


	4. Eclipse

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**Eclipse**

_Love doesn't make the world go 'round! Love is what makes the ride worthwhile_.

--Franklin P. Jones

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"So, what do you see?" Tsunade asks, watching Sakura intently. Through the machine, she can barely make out her face but she can see the tense hands. Those hard lines showed clearly what Sakura is feeling.

Frustation. Anger. Maybe even a little remorse. She'd have to be a saint to not feel a little regret for what she did and no one like that ever existed.

"I see…" Sakura pauses, trying to make out the words. She squints bit that barely merges the two images into one coherent letter. "The first line is X, Y, G…D?...E, K, M….L….C…O…" She stops between the letters, making sure that the 'C' isn't a 'D', or the 'O' a 'Q'. If she tries, she could say the chart from memory. As she rattles off the letters, she starts to guess towards the end. "P, B, T."

"…" Tsunade frowns, turning down to her notes.

"I could barely read the second line, let alone the third." Sakura sighs, her face emerging from behind the machine. "So, what's the verdict?"

"…-9.75, I would guess, but it's probably even worse. Maybe -11.25, even." Tsunade doesn't try to hard to figure it out now—first she needs a drink. Maybe two.

"I see." Sakura looks away, rubbing her arms. "I guess I need glasses then."

"You needed them a long time ago. You just delayed this."

She gives a short laugh, the irony of this situation not escaping her. "That's true. And after what I tell all my patients…I suppose I should say ex-patients. I won't be able to work here again."

"…I've already handed off your cases to the others." Tsunade rubs her forehead. It isn't easy losing one of her best medics.

(It isn't easy losing her almost-niece, her sort-of friend, her apprentice. Sakura isn't dying but it feels like it at times.)

"I made enough notes, I think, but if there are any problems, they can ask me. When will my glasses be ready?"

"A few days. At most, it will take five days."

"Next Thursday?"

"…No, come Tuesday. I'll have it ready by then."

Sakura nods, getting up from her chair. "See you then, shishou."

"It's odd," Tsunade mumbles to herself when Sakura closes the door. "She didn't look me in the eyes even once."

-x-

She walks slowly, almost at a crawl, through the halls. The chatter of medics as they pick up files and head to a patient buzzes in the background, the music she used to listen to everyday. The soundtrack of her work life, each step, each tool's clink and clatter, all those sounds seem to jump at her. As distinct as the sun, she makes them all out.

She'll miss this. Even when Sakura complained about the long hours, the exhaustive drain of chakra, she never expected it to come to this.

Even the smell of the sterile, stale air seems nostalgic. There are flowers every now and then by the windows, bright squares of sunlight, bright floral works from Ino. A small child, clutching his white teddy bear (Snowy), goes to the bright green playroom. His mother hovers behind him, waiting for his latest check-up.

A cold feeling swallows her, her chest first and spreading like a virus. It is just like her words were earlier—uncaring, straight-to-the-point. Not like her, with her violent bursts and passionate actions.

Not like her at all.

-x-

Naruto grins as he stares at his masterpiece of a plan. Messy scribbles terrorize the blank paper, notes that only he can decipher. Aside from getting Sasuke annoyed, he's going to get Sakura to talk to him more. She seems to avoid him, not by much but just enough that he can notice.

Even if others don't think so, he does notice things. Small signs are all he needs when it comes to those important to him.

Humming slightly, he nods to himself. All he has to do is get Sakura to hit Sasuke, get Sasuke to talk, get…

He pauses. Maybe his plan won't work as well as he thought after all. Frowning, he crumples up the page and gets a fresh sheet.

-x-

"She's in here somewhere," Choiji tells his friend as they enter the quiet room. "The librarian called me."

"She's probably in the back." Shikamaru trails behind his friend, sighing. Ino has always been the most troublesome member of their group, causing small messes in her wake.

"She's been here everyday since we came back." Carefully moving past the books, he frowns. "Maybe we should have called her out more."

"Ino would have come here anyways." Turning his head, he sees a slumped figure. "Found her."

"Worked herself too hard again," Choiji says tenderly as he approaches Ino's sleeping figure. "I'll carry her home."

"…ok." Shikamaru doesn't argue, instead glancing curiously at the book she left open. A diagram of the eye covered the page. Giving a cursory glance at the other books (Eye Surgery, Illnesses of the lobes,) he gets the gist of what she's doing. "Troublesome girl. She should have asked for help."

-x-

Kakashi gives himself a small smile as he heads for Sakura's home, not noticing the pages at his nose for once.

_It's nearly done,_ he thinks as he strolls down the street. Soon he can stay for the day and keep a proper eye on her.

-x-

It's getting dark outside when Sasuke sees Sakura break down for the first time. He's waiting by the front door, Naruto is half-asleep inside, and she's in the backyard. She might have been looking at the moon or just contemplating to herself out there.

Anko is late and while he isn't impatient or irritated—emotions get in the way—he would (be happier? No, because that is something he doesn't, _can't_ feel) prefer it if she came on time. Sometimes it was taxing spending time with his old teammates, especially when they tried to 'transform' him.

It is getting chiller and Sasuke takes a moment to glance at the backyard. Sometimes Anko likes to come there when she picks him up. Normally he hears it but he isn't sure if it's because he's that strong or because she's letting him. His memories of her are hazy and he can't gouge her strength at the moment.

When he looks in the backyard, he hears a small sound and sees a small figure bathed in the moonlight. It's Sakura, silently crying and trying to stop it at the same time. "I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't," she chants to herself, over and over while rubbing her eyes furiously. "I'm not weak, not any more. I won't cry."

_She tries too hard,_ he thinks, _to give off this strong image._

While Sasuke values strength, he doesn't like it when people try to deceive themselves and be someone they aren't. That's how he chose his other team, picking people who had 'real' abilities and ignore those who faked it.

Sakura, at least the girl he remembered, cried more often than this. She cries less now and instead of acting timid around him, she's more outgoing. If she is annoyed, she shows it no matter who they are. Her soft-heart, that 'kindness' she used to show to a select few is shown to most now, even to Naruto.

There had been changes while he was gone. When Anko takes him back to his cell, Sasuke thinks that maybe Sakura has grown stronger.

At the very least, she doesn't act as much any more.

-x-

One day Kakashi stays home in the morning. He doesn't look edgy, as though he needs to be somewhere else as he eats breakfast, doesn't try to stroll out the door and get out of doing the dishes.

Instead he just sits at the table, reading his book with a relaxed look on his face. Sakura stares at him (when was the last time she saw his face relaxed? Oh, _before_). Naruto is washing the dishes while Sasuke is drying but Sakura can tell they are glancing at Kakashi as well.

He never stays this late. Usually, she only catches his back as he leaves for the day.

"Hmm? Notice how handsome I am?" Kakashi asks her, leaning closer when he notice her staring. Naruto coughs, nearly dropping the plate while Sakura turns red.

"Kakashi-sensei! No!" she yells.

"I understand and I promise to be gentle." Naruto does drop the plate this time, which Sasuke catches, and dashes towards Sakura.

"You old perv—" Naruto starts to yell but the doorbell goes off and interrupts them.

"It's here!" Kakashi says, sounding almost like a school-girl, and he disappears from the room as though nothing had happened.

"She's ready?" Kakashi asks as he opens the front door.

"Nearly," a voice replies, sounding familiar to Sakura and Naruto. They glance at each other. _Kiba?_

"What's left?"

"Just a few more moves and the bonding. It'll go fine."

"Thanks for doing this. I'll take her in." The door closes and Kakashi's head pokes in through the doorway.

"Hey, I have a gift for you, Sakura."

"A gift…"

"Come on in, Kyoko-chan."

Sakura peers expectantly at the door, as does Naruto, but no mysterious female appears at the door. However, a small whine is heard and Sakura glances down to see a huge, orange-red dog at her feet.

"A dog?" Naruto yells and Sakura squeals at the same time.

"She's going to be your eyes," Kakashi explains and the look on her face as she latches onto the dog makes all that hard work worthwhile.

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**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait—I didn't realise how long it was. To make up for it, I put in Sasuke's POV for the first time!

(I hope it fits…)

I promise I'll update next month—I'm trying to update my stories a minimum of once a month from now on.


	5. Aurora

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_Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone._

--C.S. Lewis

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**Aurora**

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She wakes to see hues of fire and gold, the colour of passion. It's soft to the touch and she buries her face into the coat. Her dog—it is such a surprise to even consider that this beautiful creature is hers, that this dog will soon help her when the world is at its darkest.

"Kyoko-chan, is it time already?" There is a whine in response, the dog pressing closer to her master, and Sakura sighs. "All right, let's go."

As she gets off the bed, shooing Kyoko off her, she notices that the sky is dark still. Tiny pinpricks—so tiny, she can barely notice them, the moon a blurry picture, alert her to the fact that the sun will not rise for some time.

"Why do you need to go for a walk so early?" Sakura half-pouts as she quickly dresses. There is a soft body brushing her legs after, twirling around her as smooth as silk, and she wonders if Kyoko is part cat. She acts like one, with her soft padding and quiet afternoon naps.

After hooking the leash to Kyoko and locking the door behind her, Sakura closes her eyes. A practice run, to see if she can get used to following another creature, to start trusting her guide to help her.

A few steps of blindness, a sense of disorientation. It feels like walking through eternity, unable to know if minutes or hours have passed. She can't tell what direction they are traveling, can't recognize the street she has memorized since childhood.

It's frightening and too much to bear. Immediately, she opens her eyes only to find she's moved three houses away.

(Three houses? A five minute walk at the slowest pace? It felt like an hour, like forever, and if this is what it will be like after, she is no longer sure she wants to face it.)

Kyoko tugs eagerly at the leash and Sakura lets her lead the way.

Her eyes remain open.

-x-

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto looks around the house, calling for the girl. "Sakura-chan?" Turning to his companion, he wonders aloud, "Do you think she got lost?"

Though he would rather refrain from speaking, Sasuke gives a cool look to Naruto. "She's not blind yet."

"…still…"

Kakashi appears at the doorway, a smile in his eyes. Naruto sometimes wondered how people could do that, smile with the littlest parts of their body. A talent, he is sure, and Kakashi has mastered it.

(What Naruto doesn't realize is that he smiles with his whole body, with every part, and that is an even bigger talent.)

"Sakura went for a walk with Kyoko." Walking in, he sits down. "She should be back soon—Kyoko doesn't need a really long walk. She'll be doing that all day from now on."

Sasuke slips into a chair of his own, closing his eyes and leaning back. Watching him, Naruto realizes his approach was wrong.

His plans always involved changing Sasuke back. To turn this man into a boy of smirks and faint smiles, of constant competition and bickering. He wanted to turn Sasuke back into the boy who wouldn't mind protecting a friend, even if it meant his own death, even if he would never admit to doing it.

The problem with that was that Naruto and Sakura would have to turn back too. They would have to turn back into the naïve boy and the foolish girl.

Adaptation is now the key—they will have to adapt to this new Sasuke and see if any of the old remained. If so, they have a starting point. If not, they just have to start over.

And, in a sense, they are already starting over.

-x-

Ino wakes up, a warm feeling enveloping her. She turns to her side, snuggling deeper into the pillow. If she goes deep enough, maybe she won't find her way back. She could just stay there, stuck in this land between dreams and reality and never have to choose between them.

She feels the soft comforter covering her shoulders, the hard mattress beneath her, and keeps her eyes closed. She knows where she is.

Then it crosses her mind, a stray lamb of thought and fears (of fading light, of shadows creeping, of loss and a permanent twilight) and Ino jolts awake.

She should be in the library. She should be lying on a desk, the ink from her book imprinting on her cheek.

She should not be home, resting as though she has this time.

Jumping off her bed, Ino dresses quickly. If she is quick enough, she can make it there in ten minutes.

-x-

Sakura spends hours with her pet, her new friend, her lifelong ally. Training, bonding, they do the exercises that Kiba gave her.

Kakashi stands in a corner, lewdly giggling at his book. Giving him a dirty look, she moves Kyoko a little further away. "Can't have you picking up his habits."

Naruto hovers over her shoulder. "Wow, Kyoko-chan is big."

"You just noticed that?" She gives him a pointed look. Kyoko is a little below her shoulders, as broad as a horse, and to think he didn't notice that from the start…

Well, she has to wonder if she's the only one going blind here.

"I noticed it before!" Naruto hotly protests, "What I meant was that she's bigger than Akamaru."

"Hmm…" Looking at her once more, Sakura nods. "You're right. Apparently, she isn't the runt of the litter. And she'll grow a little taller until she gets to my neck. She still has a month to go."

Sasuke is in the background still, she notices from the corner of her eyes as she continues to groom Kyoko. Naruto insisted on helping—he's never had a pet before and she didn't have the heart to resist him.

There is a soft snort behind her, barely audible over Naruto's yelp when his hand got too close to Kyoko's mouth.

It's not much, really, but she takes comfort from it all the same.

-x-

When Sakura's parents return, she receives their anger in a calm manner. She deserves it, she knows that, deserves the loud exclamations and panicky berating.

They are worried over her, worried for what will happen as a result of her actions.

And this time, it isn't a scrape that can be kissed away.

"Sakura, were you even _thinking_? Wasn't there some other way to do this?" Her mother asks, pleading.

It still hurts, when the anger cools off into a resigned sorrow and all she can feel is that she's let them down again.

-x-

Sakura thinks she might be getting better at this. Maybe not a lot, it would be too much to expect a drastic change in the two months that have passed by, but it is a change nonetheless.

"Hello, Sasuke," she greets him, giving him a brief smile before moving past him into her house. Unhooking Kyoko's leash, she hangs it before rubbing her dog to see if any burrs are caught in her fur.

"…hello."

Not as jilted and awkward as before, she acknowledges. It's more comfortable, at the very least, a calm conversation, a boat on a lake.

The only problem, though, is that she doesn't know what to talk to him about. They had nothing in common before he left (and it is only now, when she can look at it objectively, that she can admit it.)

Naruto's not with him today and she seizes that opportunity. "Where's Naruto?"

"…He will be coming later." He doesn't explain further. She'll have to wait till Naruto arrives to find out.

"Oh."

"…"

Once again, Sasuke killed the conversation. She ponders it for a few minutes, puzzles out anything that they could possibly talk about, and gives it up for a lost cause. Those conversations she had in the garden, not too long ago, haven't amounted to anything.

He still seems like porcelain, untouchable, and any progress they make will break if she tries.

Instead, she chooses to talk idly about whatever comes to her mind. It makes the house less silent, less ghost-like (she wonders if this is how Sasuke feels when he goes to that abandoned compound, if he hears the remnants of voices that never finished what they had to say).

"There was this adorable kid playing ball outside today," she starts. Sasuke's wandered off to her living room, lounging on the couch. It makes her nervous, the idea that he might or might not be listening, the idea of him judging her.

She babbles when she's nervous and she wonders if he'll think the worse of her for it.

He's probably not listening. He's Sasuke, after all, and why would he be interested in her walk?

She chatters away anyways.

If someone asks, she can always say she's talking to Kyoko.

-x-

"Did you really have to do this?" Sakura's father asks her, finally, the steam released. He's slouching in his chair, an empty glass at his hand. There is something defeated about his position and she fights back the guilt and tears.

She caused this and she has to face it, has to show that she did what she had to. If she doesn't, they'll never accept it. They'll eat holes in her defense until she doubts and she doesn't want to doubt. She doesn't want to be bitter and hateful to her reasons when she is the one who chose.

(And yet, at night when it is dark and the only sound left is her breathing, she hates her teammates. Hates them in a small part of her that she is disgusted of and relishes at the same time.

It's only here, when she's all alone, that she admits to herself that maybe she did make a mistake. Maybe she didn't look through all her options.

Then she banishes that thought because they are still _here_ and that is what is important.)

-x-

"Sasuke, do you want a book?"

"…No."

"…" She frowns, unsure of what to do. Naruto still hasn't arrived, two hours later, and Sasuke still hasn't moved from his spot in the living room.

Her mother would be angry, she thinks, about her being so rude to a guest.

"Something to eat then? Drink?"

He gives her an annoyed look and continues. "I'm fine."

She should have been proud of herself for getting that reaction. The only problem is that she has prodded and asked the same things over and over for the last hour.

If he didn't act annoyed, she would have been worried.

"Ok, if you're sure."

She knows she'll be back in a few minutes to ask again.

-x-

"Ino, you're eating _now_."

She tugs her arm, trying to get it out of his grip, but it is hopeless. Choji is always determined when it comes to eating.

"I'm busy, maybe later."

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru brings the rear in this distorted parade, carrying her bag in one arm. "Don't bring everything with you."

"Then why don't you let me stay back there with my heavy bag?" she hisses to him, irritated that she's not reading right now.

She only had a few more pages left in that book and it looked so promising…

"Tch. Stop protesting so much."

Choji chooses to pipe in, "You can't miss lunch!" He normally isn't this forceful and Ino realizes that maybe she has been spending too much time in the library. When was the last time she has actually talked to these two?

(If she lets herself think about it, the answer comes out far bigger than she likes.

She chooses not to remember.)

Still, Sakura could be blind in a month, two at most, and that need is more urgent.

She can't fail her friend, not now, not again.

-x-

She frowns as she searches around the kitchen for something to do, something to keep her occupied. Something red catches her eyes and she smiles.

It isn't obtrusive and Sasuke won't mind (that is, if his tastes have not changed too much over the years, at least not here) it.

Hopefully, it will make up for her other attempts at hostess.

Slipping back into the living room, she ignores how he watches her move toward the table in the center. A small plate, slices of tomatoes covering the entire surface transfers to it from her.

Then she quickly disappears, hiding in the kitchen once more.

Sasuke's her teammate, she reminds herself. Just like Naruto. And if Naruto were here, she would have given him ramen in a heartbeat.

She hums to herself as she finds a book to read, squinting to make out the words. Glasses would be useful here—she was supposed to pick them today but she forgot. And tomorrow she can't, training with Kyoko and Kiba more important than temporary devices.

Her steps click and clack as she dances out familiar steps on the kitchen tiles. When she was a little girl, she always wanted to be a dancer. The steps she learned back then hadn't left her and though she isn't graceful in her moves, she still does them all the same.

Pretend Sasuke's Naruto, Sakura tells herself as she dances a little more. If she treats him like she treats Naruto, maybe being teammates will come easier, maybe conversations will flow smoother.

At the very least, she won't be as self-conscious. When it comes to him, she still worries over her actions. It hasn't changed too much, especially during this transition stage between strangers and comrades.

She hopes that friendship is the finish line, at least.

-x-

"Is this even worth it?"

She doesn't care who asked it, she just bites her lip angrily. This is the question that she feared the most, unsure of how to respond to it.

Now that she's faced with it, Sakura sees the answer staring her in the face, her personal monster rising out of the lake.

This doubt will never leave her and for the first time in many, she squashes it down.

"It will always be worth it."

-x-

Ino sullenly sits there in the booth, pressed in a corner with Choji on one side of her and Shikamaru across from her.

"I do not want to—"

Shikamaru sighs, putting his chopsticks down as he waits for the second batch to cook. "We know already, woman."

"Then let me go!" She half screeches that, half pleads, but it still amounts to nothing with them.

"Sakura wouldn't like you in there like that." He's always the voice of reason and while that is good during mission, she silently curses him for it.

"It's for her."

Choji gulps down a glass of water. "but Ino, Tsunade said—"

"I don't care. She can say that—"

Shikamaru stares at her, point blank, and she feels uncomfortable as he speaks. He sounds irritated. "Ino, we have gone through those books. There is nothing to be done."

"Heh, like _you _would go through books."

There is a soft sigh from Choji. "We did. We're your teammates, Ino, your friends. We worry about you."

He's getting soft, she thinks spitefully. Immediately she feels ashamed of that thought. This is Choji, after all.

"…There still could be something out there."

"If it is, it won't be found in time." Shikamaru picks up his chopsticks once more.

She thinks she should feel angrier about this, after spending so much time trying to find a cure, find something. And she does, enough that she pushes past Choji and leaves the booth.

But she's tired too, the days and nights spent straining her eyes to read fine print taking its toll on her. It's hard to keep up hope, harder still to do so when everything is telling her not too.

This is the last straw, though, and the determination holding her afloat suddenly snaps.

Ino leaves the restaurant feeling weary and when she gets home, she collapses on her bed and falls asleep immediately.

The crying will come later.

-x-

Naruto doesn't come that day, a messenger from the Hokage telling Sakura that Tsunade is 'teaching the brat a lesson'.

She doesn't really want to know what Naruto did this time or if this was just the result of months of suppressed irritation coming out.

When she enters the living room to tell Sasuke this, she finds him lying down on the couch. His eyes are closed, though she doubts he's sleeping.

That comes with trust and she thinks it will be some time before they earn that from each other.

It is his attempt though (she isn't sure if it's from resignation that he will be stuck here or something else) and she smiles at that.

Her smile broadens when she sees the empty plate.

…

…

…

…

A/N: It's longer than my last chapter and I was going to keep going but I decided this was enough for one day.

I've come to the realization that my style in this story has changed again—this chapter is a bit more quiet, contemplative than the other ones. At least, I think so.

Is the progress good? I'm going to keep asking these questions—I tend to doubt myself.

I hope this change isn't too bad, though I'll try to pick it up a bit. Next chapter will have a SasuSaku (if you look for it) moment.

Maybe two. I need to think of his reaction to her wearing glasses.


	6. Shadows

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_Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, or witherings, or tarnishings._

-Anais Nin

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**Shadows**

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"Sakura-chan?" Naruto calls out as he enters her house. Sasuke follows him silently, mindful of the ANBU eyes watching him.

"I'm here, Naruto," she calls out to him, and she walks out of the kitchen to see him. "Tsunade finished testing me and…" She frowns, looking at her nose.

Naruto doesn't reply, instead staring at her for a moment before saying to her, "Sakura-chan! You look so…cute!"

It is true, with her glasses on tip of her nose and the small frown on her face. She looks at it, cross-eyed, for a moment, concentrating on fixing the glasses properly.

Sasuke doesn't say anything, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"It's fixed." Sakura smiles, before looking at Naruto. "How does I look?"

"Sakura-chan, you're so pretty right now! Not that you aren't always pretty," Naruto corrects himself, remembering what happened the last time he said something like this. Sakura gives him a smile and glances at Sasuke before saying to Naruto, "Let's go eat dinner!"

She notices that Sasuke doesn't look at her during the meal and fears it is due to pity.

-x-

Sasuke is still silent and cold and Sakura remembers the flip side to their conversation in the garden.

It's true; he didn't ask to be saved. It doesn't change the fact that they would have done so anyways.

However, there is a slight arrogance to what they did.

Not everyone wants to be saved, not everyone is better after being rescued.

-x-

Her apartment is still vacant and Sakura wonders when she'll return to it, if ever. It's easy here, her mother cooking in the kitchen, her father hovering at her every step. He keeps his hand on the crook of her elbow, guiding her up the stairs, and she tries to keep the floor clean, wary of every unseeing step.

They are safe-guards and she knows if she stays here she won't have to worry. They'll give her everything she needs and for that she is grateful.

All the same, Sakura knows that eventually, this will become stifling. Their eyes are always on her and sometimes she chokes.

Sometimes she wants to yell—she isn't going to die or break, she can do some things. She isn't invalid, not yet and not fully.

(and sometimes, she thinks, if she doesn't leave soon, she never will.)

With that thought, she crumples her ad and sets about packing.

-x-

Ino has always hated being wrong, even more so when it is Shikamaru she has to admit defeat to.

Yet, when he and Chouji stand at her front door, a weary expression on his face and Chouji nervously shifting, it's all she can do to remain standing. Her arms twitch and she has the urge to just tackle them.

She doesn't though, instead gives them a small glare.

Chouji breaks the silence first. "Ino—"

"Don't finish that sentence," she cuts in, frowning. "You won't mean it." Still, she comes out and closes the door behind her. "Anyways, it's twelve, I'm hungry, and we are eating where I want to."

She almost smiles at the relieved look on Chouji's face, the relaxing of Shikamaru's shoulders. Almost, but doesn't, because she still needs to be angry, at least for a day, before she admits anything.

-x-

Her parents, as expected, react negatively.

"How are you going to survive?" her mother frets, worry etched on her face. It's almost a permanent mark and Sakura wants nothing more than to erase those lines of fear, spread her fingers and smooth the wrinkles.

"I can do some things! I still—"

"You can't cook, you can barely make out the dials, and it's too dangerous to chop when you can't differentiate between your fingers and carrots."

"I'll get Naruto to help, I'll get take-out, there are other ways to eat and survive."

"You can't survive on your own! You can barely make it up the steps!"

There are words that her father doesn't say, words that she hears anyways. _You can't see, you can't do anything on your own, you need our help, why did this have to happen?_

"I...I need to try to make it on my own," she starts, calmly at first before her words collide with one another. "I can do some things and you can come over to help with others and I'm not alone, I have friends. I can't always rely on you and-"

She stops. Where can she go from there? Their deaths have always hung over her head—they had her late in life and she could see the signs of age the moment she turned fourteen. Her mother can't use her left arm as much, her father has started using glasses. Bones creak and backs break and she knows that their time is marching closer and closer.

There is no more conversation after that, not for days while they let it sink in. It is tense and alien and she never thought her parents would feel like strangers to her.

When she leaves the next week, she whispers the other words her father left hanging unspoken in the air:

_I love you._

-x-

Her apartment is small and Kyoko doesn't like it at first. She paces and explores every nook and cranny before giving her a baleful glance.

"I'm sorry, but..." She still can't quite explain this need for independence, this desire to escape her house.

Her fingers cart the thick fur and she sighs, staring at the slightly dusty room.

"I don't want to be pitied." This is her pride speaking.

"I don't want them to worry anymore." This is her heart speaking and she presses her face onto Kyoko's back, her soft fur caressing her face.

If a tear slips out, neither mentions it.

-x-

This is something she has come to realize about their relationship:

They might have tried anything and everything to get him back. They might have succeeded.

It all means nothing, though, if Sasuke doesn't want it, doesn't thank them, doesn't give some indication.

And they will always be waiting for that sign.

-x-

The first night is quiet and almost unbearable. Her mother isn't peeking through the door every now and then, her father isn't quietly stroking her head when he thinks she's asleep.

It's just her and this apartment and she can't keep the loneliness at bay.

Then she feels a slight shift on the bed, Kyoko's weight comfortingly heavy on her legs.

-x-

As expected, Naruto doesn't quite like the fact that she's living on her own now.

"Sakura-chan, if something happens to you, how can anyone help?" he almost pleads, his tone laced with concern.

She gives a half-smile in response. "I'll manage."

And while that isn't the end of the conversation—Naruto opens his mouth once more, reusing the same arguments he's been mentioning for the past hour—it is as much as she wants to put up with in a two-day span.

"Naruto, this is my decision."

And he closes his mouth.

-x-

"Sakura, can you describe to me what that man looks like?" Tsunade asks as she sits besides the nervous girl. She looks around, trying to figure out who her mentor meant when she sees him.

"He…he looks like…" Sakura struggles to describe him. "He has a black coat and…green hair…"

Tsunade sighs, writing something up in her notepad as she tactfully changes the question. "Can you tell me what that kid, the closer one, looks like?"

"He has…brown hair and a white shirt. There is the drawing of a…tiger on it. And—"

Sakura is cut off as Tsunade stands up and sighs. That kid is nearly beside Sakura, so close that the girl could reach out and touch the boy. Reaching into her pocket, Tsunade takes out a small case and hands it to Sakura. "I had a feeling it would come to this, so I had this made. They have thicker lenses than the first set. Try it on and tell me if it's better."

She makes a curious noise before her pale fingers opened the case to find silver-rimmed glasses. "Oh," she said to herself as she placed the glasses on her eyes. Putting them on, she saw the world come into focus.

"They won't work forever, you know," Tsunade reminds her. "It's only been a week since the last one."

"I know," Sakura replies, staring at the world around her in a fascinated manner.

-x-

It's a dance, of sorts, that occurs whenever Sasuke's around. When there is Naruto, it is a tapestry weaving for he is getting better at talking to Sasuke, at hearing responses. While sentences are short and clipped and sparsely distributed, there are sentences nonetheless.

With Sakura, conversation is more halting, almost jarring, like a beginner behind the wheel. He stops and she starts and somewhere in-between the conversation dies and grows.

Yet she can't say it is all that bad. There is still something here that wasn't there before. When they shop, Sasuke puts tomatoes in the cart and he looks at her when she's talking.

And maybe, she thinks, this is the way it would have gone anyways, had he stayed. These small moments of peace where nothing feels wrong and she thinks that everything might be fitting into place.

-x-

"Sakura-chan," Naruto says while he waits impatiently for his ramen, "How are you going to eat?" They are eating out today and it was his turn to choose.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're…you won't be able to cook any more, so how will you eat?" He can't bring himself to say the word 'blind'. It's going to happen but for just a little longer, he wants to ignore it.

"Actually…" Sakura scrunches her brows, thinking about it. "I don't know. I guess I'll have to practice using the kitchen without seeing."

"What? But…you might get burned!"

"I'll learn to cook for you, my beloved Sakura-chan! And if I don't, I'll do fifty laps on my hands and practice it until I can do it!" Lee pops into the ramen stand, hearing the discussion.

"Lee…That isn't really necessary…" Sakura smiles, nervously, as Lee continues to makes his proclamation. "Still, it's nice to see you again." Her eyes soften and Lee quiets for a moment.

"There's nothing that can be done, right?" Tenten appears beside Lee, along with Neji. Teammates in the truest sense of the word, they always appear together.

Sakura nods. "Back from your mission?"

"Two days ago. We found out about your mission…" Tenten grabs Sakura's left hand, squeezes it, and then drops it.

"I…"

Neji gently rests his hand on her shoulder. He doesn't say anything because words don't help at all. The action itself is more than enough and Sakura nods to him.

"I'll be fine."

Tenten looks doubtful but then gives her a cheeky grin. "Hey, get your teammates to cook for you. They owe you one and what better chance will you get to make them your slaves?"

"Tenten!" Sakura tries to sound angry but she ends up giggling. "Thanks."

Naruto pouts. "What? Sakura-chan, you wouldn't make me your slave, right?"

"No, you'd burn the house down. I mean, you can cook ok, but only when someone is watching you. And making sure you don't leave the stove on."

Lee gives his good-guy pose and declares, "I will learn to cook for you, Sakura-chan! You can count on it!"

"Lee," Tenten slings her arm around his neck and starts to pull him back to the street, "maybe you should go back to practice now." With a nod, Neji follows her.

("Thanks, I needed to check on her." Tenten gives him a smile.

Neji looks away. "It's nothing." She's back to normal now.)

-x-

There are a few things Naruto keeps to himself:

He notices Sakura' s missteps and her discrete gropes for items and her attempts to not appear any worse. She is proud and would never admit it, so instead he shifts her glass closer to her hand, moves the table slightly to the right, and waits for her to come to him.

There is a growing shadow on Sasuke's shoulder, one that he sees only when Sakura nearly bumps into a chair or tries to attach the leash to Kyonko. He spends more time with Sasuke than Sakura does—spends those hours before walking him to her house, those times when Sakura disappears into the other room, and he sees a bond that is slowly rebuilding between them.

Only, it is far more fragile and prone to breaking and he is careful not to breathe too hard else it shatters completely.

Naruto almost regrets fighting Sasuke that day because there were other chances and other times that might not have lead to this end. Then Sakura grips his hand and smiles, and Sasuke gives him a small smirk, and he thinks that it isn't that bad after all.

-x-

Sasuke is changing and adjusting and transforming and he doesn't know into what, how, or why. Only that it isn't all that different and it's more like a reawakening and that it'd be easier if he could just shut down once more.

-x-

There are a few things that Sakura has not mentioned to anyone:

Her world is quickly starting to lose colour. The blurring has stopped and instead she's unable to tell the differences between shades of red, variances of blue, schemes of yellow.

She is terrified because she still can't walk Kyoko with her eyes closed, still can't stop the panic attacks that threaten to take over every time she closes her eyes, still can't stop waking up afraid yesterday was her last.

There is still something cold and dark in her, something that is still waiting to be acknowledged. It's a lingering hate, a doubt, envy that slowly eats her from the inside out. She still can't touch this part of her because she has to be strong. She has to show everyone what she did, she did for a reason, and given the choice she'd do it again.

(And there is Sasuke, still and silent Sasuke who isn't quite so still anymore. He isn't the same as he was when she sat on that hospital bed and not at all like he used to be when they are 12, but there is something different about him. His edges are smoother, not so ragged, and she doesn't know what to do with this.)

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**A/N:** Um. So, this was rather bad and hard to write and absolutely terrible pace-wise and story-wise. I mean, why is Sakura moving out, I didn't want that, and Sasuke is so hard to show changes to because either it's too fast or too slow and I think I ended up with the too fast section.

Also, my style is changing a bit through this piece as some of this was written last year, when I last update this fic (a year? Has it really been a year? I'm such a loser!) and some of it was written now.

So either way, this chapter is a monster and I would like input on how to improve.


End file.
